10 Free Events About Hope, Healing + Meaning in Grief
It’s now just five days until Good Grief Festival and thousands of you have signed up to attend our events! The past year has been incredibly difficult for so many people and we know that it has been especially hard for those who are grieving. We are so excited to (virtually!) welcome you again and hope that you find some comfort at Good Grief.
As we countdown to the festival this weekend, we’ve put together a list of our top 10 events which offer hope, meaning and healing in grief.
1.FINDING MEANING WITH DAVID KESSLER
How can we move forward in a way that honours our loved ones? The world’s foremost expert on grief, David Kessler, journeys beyond the classic five stages to discover a sixth stage: meaning. Sharing highlights from his groundbreaking new work, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief, David will provide a roadmap to remembering those who have died with more love than pain.
This event is kindly sponsored by Marie Curie.
Sunday, March 28th 18:00-18:45
2. THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE IN GRIEF
Nature has an incredible ability to comfort and heal. It can help us connect to something bigger, and allow us to see the world, our lives, and ourselves in new ways. In this session, we consider how immersing oneself in the natural world can offer peace and enable us to confront, and move through, our grief.
This discussion features authors Long Litt Woon, Sarah Jane Douglas and Christopher Somerville.
This event is available to watch on-demand from 09:00 on Saturday March 27th to 20:00 on Sunday, March 28th.
3. REFLECT ON THE PAST YEAR WITH SIR MICHAEL MORPURGO…
March 23rd is a National Day of Reflection, spearheaded by our charity partner Marie Curie. Marking one year to the day since the nation entered its first lockdown, we will pause to remember everyone, and everything, we have lost over the past year. We will offer our thoughts for those who died as a result of Covid-19 itself and for everyone whose passing was not properly marked due to the pandemic’s unprecedented restrictions. We will reflect on the hopes and dreams we have put on hold, the sacrifices that have been made, the way of life that sometimes feels like a distant memory.
Join us for this moment of reflection, as guests including Sir Michael Morpurgo, London Community Gospel Choir and Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter share their thoughts, words and songs. Together, we’ll honour loved ones lost and reflect on the challenges we have overcome. During this session we’ll pause to observe the national minute of silence at 12:00 noon.
Take part in the live event on March 23rd (11:30-12:05) or watch on-demand from 09:00 on Saturday March 27th to 20:00 on Sunday, March 28th.
4. FEAR, COURAGE + CRISIS IN THE NHS WITH DR RACHEL CLARKE
Rachel Clarke is an author and palliative care doctor who firmly believes that there is a good way to approach end of life care. Her 2020 book, Dear Life: A Doctor’s Story of Love and Loss, drew on her experiences of having spent many years working with people confronting death and her first book, Your Life in My Hands, was a best seller.
In this new and intimate interview for Good Grief, hosted by the Festival’s founding director Dr Lucy Selman, Dr Clarke will discuss her latest book, Breathtaking, which was written during and created as a result of the pandemic.
‘Breathtaking, is an unflinching insider’s account of medicine in the time of coronavirus. Drawing on testimony from nursing, acute and intensive care colleagues – as well as, crucially, her patients – Clarke argues that this age of contagion has inspired a profound attentiveness to – and gratitude for – what matters most in life.’
Sunday, March 28th 13:30-14:30
5. EMBRACING LIFE AT A TIME OF DEATH: GOOD GRIEF WITH CATHERINE MAYER + ANNE MAYER BIRD
Catherine Mayer and her mother, Anne Mayer Bird, lost their husbands just 41 days apart on the eve of the pandemic. Entering the nation-wide lockdown as new widows, they began meeting every week (socially distanced and in protective clothing) as Catherine cared for her mother and both women learned to navigate loss, ‘sadmin’, and unexpected dramas.
The two co-wrote the book, Good Grief: Embracing Life at a Time of Death, and they will be interviewed for the Good Grief Fest by Liz Gleeson, a highly qualified and experienced psychotherapist and educator in the field of grief and loss.
As well as tracing Catherine and Anne’s intertwined stories of love and grief, Good Grief shares the two women’s thoughts, ideas and advice for anyone facing the loss of a loved one or wishing to know how best to support others in these circumstances.
They confront the unspoken fears and unhelpful stereotypes that leave so many unprepared to deal with death and unsure how to comfort anyone experiencing loss. Part memoir, part investigation, Good Grief also details Catherine’s exploration of the possibility that her husband, the musician Andy Gill, whose death made global headlines earlier this year, might be one of the earliest victims in the UK of Covid-19.
Saturday, March 27th 14:15-15:15
6. THE HEALING POWER OF SONGS WITH GIDEON COE + GUESTS
Music is often something we turn to during times of grief and loss. It can evoke fierce emotions, trigger memories and transport you back to days gone by. In this session, BBC 6Music’s Gideon Coe invites renowned guests to share the songs they turn to for comfort and healing in times of loss: from the songs that inspire hope and happy flashbacks to the epic, musical roller coasters that bring out the soul-searching, the tears and the howling grief.
Whatever your playlist and whoever inspired it, join Gideon and friends including Suzi Quatro and ‘Cockney Rebel’ Steve Harley as they celebrate the incredible power of music and memory to heal.
This is a collaborative event led by our charity partner Marie Curie to mark the National Day of Reflection.
This event will be available to watch live on March 23rd (19:00-19:45) or on-demand from 09:00 on Saturday March 27th to 20:00 on Sunday, March 28th.
7. THE ART OF PILGRIMAGE: REVISITING THE PAST TO HEAL
Revisiting the places where we feel most connected to those we’ve lost can offer profound healing. In the Art of Pilgrimage: Going Back to Move Forward our panellists share their inspiring journeys from the south coast of Australia to the backpacker’s trails of Vietnam; a holiday hotel in Scarborough to the county cricket grounds of England! Discover how taking a trip down memory lane can help us to feel more connected with those we’ve lost, and help us to find healing in the process.
This event is available to watch on-demand from 09:00 on Saturday March 27th to 20:00 on Sunday, March 28th.
Image (c) Jimmy Edmonds, The Good Grief Project
8. THE GRIEF GIFT – FINDING MEANING + PURPOSE AFTER LOSS
Grief can be a powerful catalyst for change. In this conversation, our panellists will discuss finding new purpose and meaning after the death of a loved one. Hear inspiring stories from Stuart Lawrence, Clover Stroud and Simon Bray who turned their losses into something that benefits others, with grief becoming a driving force in their efforts to make the world a better place.
Sunday, March 28th 10:15-11:15
9. FINDING HOPE + MEANING BEYOND COVID-19
Join our panel of creators and thinkers, hosted by multi-award winning broadcaster and presenter, Anneka Rice, as they discuss their vision for a better post-pandemic society. Anneka’s guests include grief expert and author Julia Samuel MBE, best-selling author and palliative care expert Dr Rachel Clarke, podcaster Steve Bland and full-time GP and BBC Breakfast‘s medical expert, Dr Amir Khan.
They’ll consider how lives and communities can be rebuilt to support those who are suffering, and how we can all find hope and meaning for the future.
Will we ever return to ‘normal’? Do we want to?
This is a collaborative event led by our charity partner Marie Curie to mark the National Day of Reflection.
Finding Hope + Meaning Beyond Covid-10 will be available to watch live on March 23rd (18:00-18:45) and on-demand from 09:00 on Saturday March 27th to 20:00 on Sunday, March 28th.
10. HOW TO USE THE GRIEF SCHOOL
The Grief School features 60+ hours of on-demand content including talks, webinars and workshops recorded at previous Good Grief festivals and events. Events can be filtered to provide you with relevant content specific to your experience of grief or bereavement: from childhood bereavement to pet loss; stillbirth to sudden death; finding healing to creative therapy practices for grief.
We hope you find wisdom, comfort and healing at The Grief School.
All Grief School content will be available to watch on demand
from 09:00 on March 27th to 20:00 on March 28th.
WATCH OVER 100+ HOURS OF EVENTS ON-DEMAND ON THE GRIEF CHANNEL
Can’t make our free events next weekend? Don’t worry, a year long subscription to The Grief Channel will get you access to 60+ hours of content from Good Grief Festival 2020 and soon 40+ hours of content from Good Grief Festival 2021 for just £20. You’ll also get access to The Grief School featuring regular monthly events, and a huge catalogue of talks, workshops and webinars which you can filter to provide you with relevant content specific to your experience of grief or bereavement.